PE with the most difficult model tests

To prep for PE interviews, I built a lot of LBOs from real PE rounds. It seems HIG, TB, and EQT have some of the toughest technical interviews among MFs/UMMs. I'm curious, which other firms have you found to have difficult model tests?

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Most on-cycle test don’t get nearly as complex as the PF ones. What’s makes them difficult is when they try to assess investor acumen and give you relatively little time to build a from scratch model. The LBOs are all pretty standard with no div recaps/add-ons/etc and they are more interested in your ability to make a recommendation from just a CIM and a couple of hours. Obviously exceptions and there are certainly ones that purely want to test your modeling ability, but in my opinion those are not the hardest.

 
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Honestly, just try and develop an opinion within 15 minutes and stick to it. Undervalued company with strong turnaround potential, topline growth story, etc...  

Most cases can go a number of directions in terms of conclusions and as long as you can back it up with reasonable assumptions you'll be solid. Remember that a lot of these cases come from previous deals that they worked on internally, which means at least a few investors thought it was worth digging into / pushing for. 

 

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